I grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida in the 1960s and early 1970's. I was one of those red-headed light skinned people, who wanted to be tan but only succeeded in getting more freckles. SO I added the iodine to the baby oil, slathered it on and fried like bacon for hours on the beach. That was before the days when we learned about the unhealthy consequences of too much sun exposure.

So of course, when I learned that this was harmful, I stopped those bad behaviors switching (reluctantly) to sunscreen with SPF 4 or 8. And since I live in Massachusetts now, I only used sunscreen when I was on the beach. In my more mature adult years I never really burned, but did find out that I had a significant amount of sun damaged skin. Who cares? I thought...I'm no fashion model, but I did stop spending so much time in the sun.

Fast forward to April 2017. I got a new job and they wanted me to have a TB test for my pre-employment physical. Since I already reacted to this skin test I had to have a chest X-ray instead (this has to happen every 5 years and my next one was not due until April 2019). Two days before starting work I got a call that was the beginning of big changes in my life.

The X-ray showed that something was growing on my lung. More X-rays...CT scans...MRIs...PET scans...removal of the right middle lobe of my lung (October 2017) and a surprising and perplexing diagnosis

Our SunAWARE school curriculum is based on five action steps: Avoid unprotected UV exposure and never indoor tan, Wear sun protection clothing, Apply adequate amounts of SPF 30+ sunscreen, Routinely examine your skin for changes, and Educate others. The SunAWARE acronym incorporates both sun protection and skin cancer detection components. The curriculum meets or exceeds the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and National Common Core Standards as well as the Next Generation Science Standards.